Assabet Valley Regional students can access online courses

Marlborough - In January, Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School (AVRTHS) announced that it has started a new online learning program and is offering students access to over 200 online courses. This new program is made possible by a partnership with Virtual High School (VHS) (www.goVHS.org), the pioneer of online learning for high school students and online course design and instruction for teachers.

Starting in the fall 2008 semester, AVRTHS will be supplementing its course offerings with VHS Net- Courses.

Courses will be conducted at a dedicated location at AVRTHS using school computers, and a dedicated site coordinator will act as a liaison among students, teachers and VHS.

"Online courses are becoming more and more

prevalent, not only at twoand

four-year colleges, but at many businesses [that] are using online programs to help their employees achieve and receive additional certifications to further their skills," AVRTHS Principal Mary Jo Nawrocki said. "By offering this opportunity to our high school students, we are going one step further in helping them to enhance their information and communication skills before they enter the work force or post-secondary education."

Founded in 1996, VHS is a nonprofit collaboration of high schools, teachers and students consisting of over 6,000 enrolled students, 324 member schools and 204 teachers in 27 states and 24 countries. Teachers who are certified in their specific discipline and who have completed VHS's rigorous 15-week minimum professional development program facilitate and continually monitor all courses.

In addition, VHS students benefit from a real-world simulated learning environment, small classes and personalized one-on-one attention from active high school teachers, while mastering subject matter and communication technology skills that will aid them in the future. According to VHS statistics, 90 percent of VHS students complete their courses, as compared to 18 to 20 percent for traditional online courses, and 76 percent receive a grade C or better.

"We are incredibly excited to have Assabet Valley as part of our consortium," VHS President and CEO Liz Pape said. "VHS exists because of the support of schools like Assabet Valley and their staff and students, [who] continue to foster the growth of our community."